The Influence of the Harvest Cut Height on the Quality of the Herbal Drugs Melissae folium and Melissae herba

Mária Mrlianová; Daniela Tekel’ová; Melanie Felklová; Vilém Reinöhl; Jaroslav Tóth

doi:10.1055/s-2002-20247

Planta Medica, Table of Contents

Planta Med 2002; 68(2): 178-180
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-20247

Letter

The Influence of the Harvest Cut Height on the Quality of the Herbal Drugs Melissae folium and Melissae herba

Mária Mrlianová¹ , Daniela Tekel’ová¹ , Melanie Felklová² , Vilém Reinöhl³ , Jaroslav Tóth¹

¹Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
²Institute of Natural Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
³Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract

Variability in both the content and quality of essential oil was observed in herb and leaf drugs in dependence on the harvest cut height of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. cv. Citra). Three different cuts were carried out on the respective plants. The oil content in the herb was highest in the top third (0.13 % V/m), satisfactory in the herb including both the top and middle thirds (0.08 % V/m) and lowest in the whole herb (0.06 % V/m). The oil content in the leaves of the respective herbs was in the range 0.39 % - 0.14 % V/m (top third part - whole aerial part). The percentage of citrals, linalool and β-caryophyllene in essential oil decreased in the basipetal direction, whilst the amounts of β-caryophyllene oxide and citronellal increased in the same direction. Citrals (A and B): 55.79 % in the top third part of the herb, 48.46 % in the whole herb, 59.74 % and 56.87 % in the leaves from that parts, respectively. Similarly, β-caryophyllene: 5.01 %, 3.87 %, 6.97 %, 5.13 %; β-caryophyllene oxide: 17.19 %, 24.07 %, 15.64 %, 17.82 %; citronellal: 2.73 %, 5.51 %, 2.82 %, 6.44 %.

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Dr. Mária Mrlianová

Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany

Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University

Odbojárov 10

SK-832 32 Bratislava 3

Slovak Republic

Email: tekelova@fpharm.uniba.sk

Fax: +421 2 55572065